No boos. No tracksuits. No moneyphones: Sharks’ Kane returns to Buffalo

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San Jose Sharks left wing Evander Kane speaks to the media at the fourth annual Juglife Foundation Water for Life Charity Softball Game hosted by Warriors center JaVale McGee at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday, June 26, 2018. Photo by Don Feria for the East Bay Times.

Evander Kane is expecting a friendly reception when he makes his return to the ice in Buffalo on Tuesday as a member of the Sharks, a 180-degree turn from the mockery he faced when he went back to Winnipeg as a member of the Sabres in 2016.

“I can imagine that it will be positive,” Kane said after practice in Buffalo on Monday. “I’m sure they’ll be excited.”

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Though he joined the Sharks at the trade deadline last year with a reputation for being one of hockey’s ultimate bad boys, Kane’s tenure in Buffalo ended on different note than his four-year run with the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets traded Kane to Buffalo in 2015 after he violated a dress code at a team meeting by wearing a tracksuit that eventually got tossed into a cold tub by teammate Dustin Byfuglien. The incident occurred two years after Kane ruffled feathers in the city by tweeting out a picture of himself using a big stack of money as mock phone while downtown businesses struggled during the NHL lockout.

Kane returned to Winnipeg on Jan. 10, 2016 as public enemy No. 1, hearing a parade of boos every time he touched the puck as fans held an informal “tracksuit night” while bringing wads of fake cash to the rink.

But Kane’s relationship with the city of Buffalo is cordial. The Sabres dealt him to the Sharks at the trade deadline last season for pure hockey reasons. With a nucleus of talented young players, the Sabres wanted salary cap flexibility and they knew Kane would command a hefty contract as an unrestricted free agent. At the same time, Kane wanted the opportunity to explore his options.

Despite the breakup, Kane is adamant that he enjoyed his stay in Buffalo. He embraced the community by devoting his time to a plethora of charitable causes, often hiding his visits to kids in hospitals and schools from the local media. During his three-year tenure, he ran into some trouble facing two sexual assault accusations that were later dismissed. But teammates, such as Sabres captain Jack Eichel, defended his reputation when Buffalo visited San Jose on Oct. 18.

Kane’s main regret is that he couldn’t help the Sabres put together a winning season during while in Buffalo.

“I wish that during my time here it would have been the way it is now,” he said. “Nobody wants to lose consistently, have the building half empty. That’s never fun. That’s never what you want as a player.”

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At this point, the trade is clearly working for both parties.

Last year, Kane reached the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in his nine-year career, leading the charge down the stretch by recording 14 points in his first 17 games with the Sharks. In the offseason, he signed a seven-year, $49 million extension, opting to stay in San Jose instead of testing the open market.

The decision to part ways with Kane is benefitting the Sabres, as well.

By trading Kane, the Sabres gave themselves the flexibility to pull off a number of deals in the offseason, including trades for Jeff Skinner and Conor Sheary. Both acquisitions are playing key roles in the Sabres (16-6-2) nine-game winning streak, which has propelled them into second place in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s a situation that’s obviously worked out for myself and they’ve made eight or 10 different moves and got eight or 10 different players,” Kane said. “So there’s been a lot of changes.”
SAN JOSE, CA – NOVEMBER 11: San Jose Sharks’ Evander Kane (9) celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Skinner entered Monday’s action ranked second in the NHL in goals (18), trailing Patrik Laine of the Jets by a single tally. He has scored nine goals during the Sabres’ winning streak, skating on the top line with Eichel and Jason Pominville. Sheary brings speed, depth and the experience of winning two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh to a young squad that has spent most of the last decade locked the Eastern Conference’s basement. In 24 games with the Sabres, Sheary’s collected 12 points (six goals, six assists).

In addition, the Sabres signed career backup goalie Carter Hutton, who’s 7-0 with a .934 save percentage during the winning streak, and they acquired five pieces from the St. Louis Blues, including a first-round pick, for Ryan O’Reilly on July 1. Throw all of that into the mix with Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Casey Mittelstadt, Kyle Okposo and first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin, the Sabres suddenly have a strong group of core players.

“They added Dahlin, so that gives them another real good mobile defenseman. They seem to be playing with a lot of confidence,” he said. “They’re firing on all cylinders right now. That’s how you win nine games in a row. We’re looking forward to the challenge and, hopefully, ending that tomorrow night.”